Bad news mums. Science says you can't catch up on sleep

Skimping on just two to three hours sleep for a few nights can have the same effect as pulling an all-nighter. Ugh.

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01 Feb 2017

2 years

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This article was originally published by news.com.au and has been republished here with permission. By Kathleen Alleaume.

Skimping on just two to three hours sleep for a few nights can have the same effect as pulling an all-nighter — yet it’s something that many Australians routinely do.

Recent research by the Sleep Health Foundation has found 33 to 45 per cent of adults sleep either poorly or not long enough most nights, leaving them to face the new day with fatigue, irritability and other side effects of sleep deprivation.

Similarly, a global sleep census commissioned by bedding company, Sealy showed that 1 in 3 Australians lost over 700 hours of sleep a year, which equates to getting just six hours or less of sleep per night.

Low moods, lack of energy and even depression due to a lack of sleep are just some of the key symptoms. As such, Sealy is working with sleep experts in a campaign to encourage Australians to change their lifestyle habits for a better quality night’s sleep.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LOSE SLEEP?

Whether the baby kept you up at night or you find yourself staying up late to finish a project for work, it’s easy to miss your bedtime or achieve the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per day. But it’s not losing a little sleep every now and then that’s the problem, The issues arise, when you routinely lose sleep week in, week out, in which case “sleep debt” can truly sneak up on you.

Like all debt, it has to be paid back. If you don’t, not only does sleep loss affect overall performance at school or work; physiological functions such as changes to hormones, metabolic factors and immunity are heavily impacted. Long-term effects include belly fat, insulin resistance, and heart disease.

CAY YOU PAY BACK SLEEP?

“Take a nap”, “go to bed earlier” or “have a sleep in on Sunday” may seem like simple solutions, however whether you can “catch up” on lost sleep is debatable.

In one study, people had recovered from lost sleep when allowed to sleep for nine and a half hours for two nights in a row. After these two night’s of sleep, performance in cognitive tests, mathematics problems and decision making went back to the level it was at the beginning of the study.

On the flip side, research from Harvard Medical School demonstrates that it is nearly impossible to catch up on sleep and improve the effects that chronic sleep loss had on performance, especially in people, where sleep loss drags longer than two nights, such as shift workers or who have irregular hours such as doctors and law enforcement.

Regardless, most sleep experts would argue that “quality” sleep, where your body is fully supported and able to relax, is more important than the number of hours sleep achieved. For some, a quality 20-minute “cat nap” can provide the recharge of one hour’s worth of lost sleep. But for the chronically sleep-deprived (i.e. an accumulation of 20 hours or more per week) a nap just wont cut it, taking up to months to restore natural sleep rhythms.

“The body must go into a deep sleep to recover. The muscles regenerate and the brain helps the body to create memories and clear toxins, so six hours of deep sleep can often be more valuable than eight hours, where you’ve spent three tossing and turning” Says sleep expert Professor Drew Dawson from Adelaide’s CQ University.

“The issue is that quality sleep is difficult to determine as people measure in ways which are personal to them. Most people claim a bad night’s sleep if they have a spontaneous awakening throughout the night or if they have woken too early”.

“The body becomes saturated with the amount you’ve had and it tells you to wake up. By staying in bed when this happens, you increase the perceived time that you’ve been awake and that is why you feel like you haven’t slept well.” adds Dawson.

THE TAKEAWAY

Address short-term sleep loss as soon as possible to avoid falling into long-term sleep debt. Once you feel well rested and back on track, just be disciplined about going to bed and rising at the same time, day after day.

TIPS TO IMPROVE SLEEP QUALITY

— Create a sleep haven. The four factors to follow are cool, dark, quiet and comfortable.

— Creating a non-disruptive environment i.e. no devices or TV.

— Ensuring that you have a good mattress that adequately supports your body to avoid tossing and turning all night

— Decrease or avoid alcohol and caffeine. The brain cannot go into deep sleep following too much of either, meaning that you wake up with an overtired feeling.

— Increase exercise to relieve stress — but just not too close to bedtime. Stress can have a big impact on sleep. Exercising regularly releases endorphins to relax the brain, which can in turn help improve sleep quality.

Kathleen Alleaume is a nutrition and exercise scientist and author of What’s Eating You?

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